The collective bargaining of teachers to determine things such as wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, etc. is required by a number of states. In states that do not have these requirements, many districts still have collective bargaining agreements with unions (the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association are the two largest teachers unions). In most cases, districts negotiate contracts with unions and oversee their implementation, while individual schools generally do not. Although charter schools in most states are exempt from collective bargaining mandates, teachers in some charter schools have elected and are represented by a union that collectively bargains with the school leadership. (In some cases, labor relations may also be a state-level function.)

The physical plant and school operations are generally centralized at the district level, but each school manages its own facilities and custodial staff. (There is a move by some school systems, such as the District of Columbia, for example, to outsource this function to make modernization and maintenance more efficient).

The following organizational chart, from the Oakland (CA) Unified School District, shows a typical set of functional areas within a local education agency (LEA), referring to school districts, school divisions, and counties, and the lines of authority within them.